Jirass
is a monster that appeared in the TV series, Ultraman. He appeared in episode 10, "The Mysterious Dinosaur Base". He is known for being one of the most recognized monsters in the Ultraman franchise for very particular reasons... Subtitle: Character History 'Ultraman' The titular "Loch Ness Monster" of Scotland, Jirass was originally a Dinosaur who lived in solitude until he was found by Professor Nikaidou 15 years ago on an expedition to the Loch Ness. Due to the man's mentally unhealthy love for Dinosaurs, the Professor took Jirass with him back to Japan, where he raised it for the next 15 years under the disguise of "Dr. Nakamura," while Jirass was housed in Lake Kitayama, where it lived a noturnal life-style. Jirass eventually grew and grew until it was discovered by accident by Ide of the Science Patrol and a Reporter named Kubo while the Monster was being fed by "Dr. Nakamura" one night. Once the Doctor found out that he's been spied on, he held both Ide and Kubo hostage at his Mansion to ensure that his secrect never got out. Shortly after Ide's capture though, Hayata and Arashi realized he had not returned after a while and the rest of the Science Patrol launched into action to find him, fearing something bad had happened to him. As the rest of the Science Patrol arrived at Lake Kitayama though, Jirass re-surfaced and attacked them, while Dr. Nakamura tried to protect his Monster by hindering the Science Patrol's efforts to kill him. During his madness, Dr. Nakamura revealed his true identity as Professor Nikaidou and the madman sadistically ordered Jirass to kill the Science Patrol. In doing so though, Professor Nikaidou was accidentally trampled to death by his own monster while Jirass cornered the Science Patrol at Nakamura/Nikaidou's Mansion, threatening to kill them inside it. Realizing that everyone was in trouble, Hayata transformed into Ultraman to battle Jirass instead. Ultraman managed to physically overpower Jirass in a test of might and eventually tore off the Monster's Frill, further taunting Jirass by using it as a Matador's Muleta. After discarding the frill, Ultraman and Jirass had a physical brawl with one another until finally, Ultraman struck Jirass in the gut with his Ultra Chop technique, causing Jirass to spurt blood from its mouth and keel over, dead. In a surprising act of sympathy though, Ultraman took Jirass's torn frill and placed it back on the dead Monster's head, giving it a very brief moment of silence before taking off. Appearances in other media 'Redman' Jirass reappeared in the Mini-Series, Redman, as a reoccurring adversary: Other appearances 'Stage Shows' to be added 'Manga' to be added 'Miscellaneous' to be added Weapons and Abilities * Heat Ray: Jirass can fire a Blue Heat Ray from his mouth. * Adept Swimmer: Being born in the Loch Ness, Jirass is fully adaptable underwater. Behind the scenes Portrayal Jirass is portrayed by suit actor Haruo Nakajima. Relationship to Toho's Godzilla Of a mass majority of the Monsters that have appeared in the various ultra series', Jirass is considered by the general public to be the most recognizable for his appearance. Jirass's appearance is, in actuality, a very loosely disguised costume of the infamous Toku monster, Godzilla. Unlike Gomess however (Another monster who's costume was also created by utilizing the Godzilla suit), Jirass was created simply by combining the head of the DaisensoGoji suit (the Godzilla suit that was used for the films, Invasion of Astro-Monster and Ebirah, Horror of the Deep,) with the body of the MosuGoji suit (the suit that was used for Mothra vs. Godzilla and Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster.) and a noticeable large, scarf-like frill was placed around Jirass's neck to give the monster distinction. Along other minor alterations to the costume was some yellow paint sprayed on parts of his body. To further demonstrate the similar attributes shared between Jirass and Godzilla, Jirass possesses a modified but still rather recognizable Godzilla roar. Additionally, Jirass's Heat Ray attack bearing a close resemblance to Godzilla's signature Atomic Ray. Also adding to Jirass's close relationship with Godzilla is that the portrayal of Jirass in his episode appearance was notably done by suit actor Haruo Nakajima, the same suit actor who played the role Godzilla in the first twelve Godzilla films (ranging from Gojira to Godzilla vs. Gigan.) A possible reasoning behind Jirass's appearance was because at the time of Ultraman's production, there was a slight decline in budget and a very short schedule for episodes to be made by. This can be seen heavily between episodes 8 through 19, which featured other monsters with loose redesigns, (including Pigmon, Gabora, Aboras, etc.) At the time, Eiji Tsuburaya (the Creator and Director of the Ultraman TV show) had negotiated with Toho Co. LTD to have the Godzilla suit loaned to Tsuburaya productions. (At the time, Toho was moving on to using a new Godzilla suit for their next film, Son of Godzilla.) The conditions for using the suit however was that it'd be in good condition once filming was complete. It can also be interpreted that Jirass's creation, appearance, and general battle against Ultraman was to pay homage to the creation of Godzilla himself as Eiji Tsuburaya made his career famous by handling the special effects for Toho Co. LTD, including the very first Godzilla film and may other famous Giant Monster films, such as Rodan, Mothra, and many more. Notes * In the English dub of Ultraman, Jirass is renamed "Keyra'.''" * In some books, Jirass's Subtitle is sometimes referred to as . Gallery Jirass - Ultra series 1.png Jirass without frill.png|Jirass, without his frill. References Category:Ultraman Monsters Category:Redman Monsters Category:Beryudora's Right Arm